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Alexandre Dumas Fils's 'Camille'

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In the novel Camille the author Alexandre Dumas Fils reveals the story of a woman’s life as a prostitute, along with her love affair, based in the mid-19th century in France. Although the narrative alone is captivating, it becomes more intriguing after discovering the correlation the author has with his own story. Dumas Fils gives the story depth by providing a frame story and an inner story, and significantly connecting the two, as well as connecting it to himself. He also expertly highlights issues that he himself relates to and has faced in his lifetime. Furthermore, the author introduces a female perspective to the story, in order to stress the call for women to be treated fairly in society. Dumas Fils uses his own experiences to bring …show more content…

The story begins with the first narrator, whose everyday life is disrupted when he comes across the deceased Marguerite Gautier’s apartment. He explores her home, and finds all her lavish lifestyle, which allows him to come to a quick conclusion. “For having begun to examine things a little carefully, I discovered without difficulty that I was in the house of a kept woman...the furniture was superb; there were rosewood and buhl cabinets and tables, Sevres and Chinese vases, Saxe statuettes, satin, velvet, lace; there was nothing lacking” (Dumas Fils 4). From this inference, the author creates an assumption that the narrator has been in the presence of prostitutes before, which helps him have a better understanding of what he will later be told. Armand, the second narrator, tells the original narrator his story about his love affair …show more content…

These problems stemmed from the life of Dumas Fils himself, which ultimately lead him to put the affairs down on paper. One of the most significant ones was how the women of this time desired all the luxuries and what they did to get their hands on them. The most evident example of this is prostitution, which is a focal point in the novel. Many of the women, including Marguerite, sell their love in order for a man to provide her with wealth and fortune. However, as proven in the story, this kind of life does not end well. “One the first page written in ink, in an elegant hand, an inscription on the part of the giver. It consisted of these words: Manon to Marguerite. Humility” (Dumas Fils 21). Like Marguerite, all prostitute's lives would be over as soon as they started to age, because no one wanted them anymore. When Marguerite is along and dying she has many regrets about the life she lived. “It is a sad life that I am leaving” (Dumas Fils 35). Dumas Fils shows the result of the sinful lives of kept women by creating the scene of Marguerite’s grave being dug up. “It was terrible to see, it is horrible to relate. The eyes were nothing but two holes, the lips had disappeared, vanished, and the white teeth were tightly set. The black hair long and dry, was pressed tightly about the forehead, and half veiled the green hollows of the cheeks” (Dumas Fils 57). Another

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